Your prescribed dose of health law news
Virtual primary care company HealthTap recently announced that it has partnered with Samsung to provide telehealth services through Samsung smart TVs. Users will be able to connect to the HealthTap platform and schedule a doctor visit using a built-in camera on the television.
Consumers who pay $15 per month for HealthTap’s platform will be able…
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Rivkin Radler’s Michael Sirignano authored an article for the September 2 issue of the New York Law Journal entitled “As Telemedicine Expands, Insurance Fraud Grows.” The article discussed recent enforcement actions by the U.S. Department of Justice and the recent Special Fraud Alert issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’…
Rivkin Rounds’ first Fraud Week kicks off with kickbacks. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced that the owner of Boerne Drug in Boerne, Texas was indicted on conspiracy charges for his role in an alleged kickback scheme. According to DOJ, pharmacy owner Lucky S. Ott and his co-conspirators offered and paid bribes to…
On July 20, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a Special Fraud Alert to caution healthcare practitioners who may wish to enter into arrangements with telehealth companies. The Alert describes several types of fraud schemes that have resulted in federal investigations and civil and/or criminal charges, particularly…
On July 21, Amazon confirmed that it intends to acquire One Medical for approximately $3.9 billion in an all-cash transaction. One Medical is a membership-based, technology-driven, primary care and telehealth organization with about 767,000 members as of the end of March 2022. The deal strengthens Amazon’s growing connections to the healthcare sphere, as the e-commerce…
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On June 13, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued guidance to explain how audio-only telehealth can comply with HIPAA, while also emphasizing that this mode of telehealth services can expand healthcare access to individuals who may have limited internet and broadband capabilities.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020,…
The increased use of telehealth services is a trend that is expected to continue long after the COVID-19 pandemic ends. In keeping with this trend, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently issued a favorable Advisory Opinion that allowed a federally qualified health center (FQHC) to provide free…
On April 20, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced criminal charges against 21 people across the country for COVID-19-related frauds. The defendants are accused of over $149 million in false billings to federal programs and thefts from federally funded pandemic assistance programs.
Some of the defendants, in California, New York and Maryland, allegedly obtained…
